John Lineker weighs in on Hiroki Akimoto tussle at ONE 172 in Saitama: "It's definitely going to be a war"

A battle between former world champions will be witnessed on March 23 at ONE 172, as former ONE bantamweight MMA king John Lineker takes on former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Hiroki Akimoto in a bantamweight kickboxing match at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

Ahead of this battle, Lineker spoke with ONE Championship and talked about how excited he is to fight Akimoto because of their similar fan-friendly fighting styles, as he stated:

"It'll be a very interesting fight for the fans. It's definitely going to be a war, because just like me, he's a guy who goes for a fight. It's going to be a great show!"

This will be 'Hands of Stone's' first bout under the kickboxing ruleset after going 2-1 in Muay Thai fights. Meanwhile, Akimoto is looking to snap this three-fight losing skid after receiving defeats at the hands of Petchtanong Petchfergus, Wei Rui, and most recently, Ilias Ennahachi.

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John Lineker keen on fighting Fabricio Andrade for the third time to potentially reclaim his 26-pound golden belt

Although he's fully focused on his upcoming fight with Akimoto, the Brazilian knockout artist is also looking forward to a possible trilogy match with rival Fabricio Andrade.

According to the American Top Team representative, he is the only contender in the bantamweight MMA division who can compete against 'Wonder Boy' as he proclaimed:

"I definitely think about this trilogy with Fabricio. I'm very active, so there's no reason why I shouldn't do this fight against him. And I believe I'm next in line. Right now I can't see anyone who can compete with Fabricio. I'm the only one who can compete with Fabricio. Other athletes in the division are coming in strong, but right now I believe I'm the right guy to compete with Fabricio."

Fans can purchase the ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang PPV card via watch.onefc.com. The event will take place inside the Saitama Super Arena in Japan on March 23.